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Illegal Migration to EU Fell in 2012

A border fence in northern Greece spans a 7 1/2-mile land section of the border with Turkey, described by European Union authorities as the busiest transit point for illegal immigration in Europe.
Associated Press

BRUSSELS—The number of people trying to illegally enter the European Union dropped by nearly half in 2012, the EU border agency said Thursday, even as tensions over migration remain high across the Continent.

The stark drop in detections of migrants crossing into the EU illegally stems mostly from the easing of a migration wave following the Arab Spring in 2011 and from the reinforcement of Europe's most porous land border, the one between Greece and Turkey. An unknown number of illegal migrants manage to cross into the EU undetected.

But
Ilkka Laitinen,
director of Frontex, the border agency, warned against reading too much into the decline to 72,437 illegal border crossings from 141,051. In 2010, by contrast, the number totaled 104,060. The conflict in Syria has increased the number of Syrians entering Europe, he said, and smugglers are figuring out new ways to get people into the EU.

"It's a matter of demand and supply," Mr. Laitinen said. The lower figures for 2012 shouldn't be read as a collapse in demand for migration into Europe, he added, but as a reflection of the changing dynamics around the Continent's borders.

The number of undocumented migrants arriving from Africa—mostly on small boats washing up on the shores of the Italian islands of Lampedusa and Sicily—dropped by 82% compared with 2011. The difference was most dramatic in the case of Tunisians: In 2011, nearly 28,000 fled the turmoil in their country, arriving in the EU through Italy; that dropped to 2,000 in 2012.

But if the easing of tensions from the Arab Spring and earlier conflicts was at play, so too was an all-out push by Greece to seal its borders. Last summer, the country deployed 1,800 additional guards at its northern land border with Turkey, and in recent years has received EU funding to tackle illegal immigration.

Frontex forces, made up of officials from EU member states, also worked with Greek authorities to shut the eastern gate to Europe. The results were striking: the Turkish-Greek land border saw a 41% drop in illegal-immigrant detections.

Greece's methods for repelling migrants have come under heavy criticism from human-rights groups. Amnesty International said in a report late last year that Greek border guards were involved in so-called push-backs, the illegal practice of pushing migrants back across the border into Turkey without arresting or recording them.

Greece has denied the allegations, and Mr. Laitinen said his agency now has a system of dealing with push-back claims and other human-rights violations incidents in Greece.

"We take very seriously all violations," Mr. Laitinen said, though he acknowledged that his organization has no authority over Greek policies.

The sealing of the Greek land border with Turkey has also led to a tripling in the number of migrants braving rough seas to cross the country's maritime border, to 4,400 in 2012 from 1,500 in 2011. Frontex warned that thousands of migrants are waiting in Istanbul as smugglers work out alternative routes into the EU to circumvent Greece's bolstered border.

Mr. Laitinen said the Turkish capital's booming economy makes life easier for migrants waiting there on their way to Europe. At the same time, Greece's sinking economy and a growing anti-migration movement, including the far-right party Golden Dawn, means migrants reaching Athens are eager to move swiftly to other European nations.

Smugglers in Istanbul are experimenting with a precarious alternate route into the EU, Mr. Laitinen said, taking migrants on small boats down the Aegean, south of Crete, across the Libyan sea, and up the Ionian Sea to the Adriatic and Italy's coasts. In November, a sailing boat following that route sank off the coast of the Greek island of Kithira, claiming 122 migrants' lives, Greek authorities said.

Developments in Syria could greatly impact illegal immigration into Europe. About 8,000 Syrian refugees fleeing war in their homeland looked for safety in Europe in 2012, a tiny percentage of the one million refugees in camps bordering Syria. But that was four times the number for the previous year, and Mr. Laitinen said he fears the trend will continue as the conflict drags on.

Syrian refugees heading into Europe have been mostly arriving in Greece and in 2012 almost none of them were granted asylum, according to the European Commission. A Wall Street Journal investigation this year focused on the dire conditions facing Syrians stranded in Greece.

Discouraged from applying for international protection by the country's asylum policy and hamstrung by a lack of appropriate travel documentation, thousands of war refugees wait in Athens for a chance to travel to Northern Europe on false documents.

Greek officials say they are doing their best to balance the refugees' needs and Greece's capacities.

"With regards to Syrians, we are taking all necessary provisions, always within the framework of the country's abilities and in the context of the financial crisis," the Ministry for Public Order said in response to written questions.

Illegal Migration to EU Fell in 2012

BRUSSELS—The number of people trying to illegally enter the European Union dropped by nearly half in 2012, the EU border agency said Thursday, even as tensions over migration remain high across the Continent.